Migrating snakes — some of them venomous — close forest road in Illinois, rangers say
Migrating snakes and amphibians force a forest road to close to vehicles twice a year, according to wildlife authorities in Illinois.
Forest Road #345 – better known as Snake Road – winds about 2.7 miles through the LaRue-Pine Hills of the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, according to a video from the U.S. Forest Service.
The gravel road divides the LaRue Swamp and the limestone bluffs of Pine Hills – two key snake habitats, the service explained.
Every fall, snakes migrate from the swamp, across the road, and to the cliffs to find a place to hibernate for the winter, National Geographic reported. In the spring, they migrate back to the swamp.
To “provide safe passage” for the migrating snakes, Snake Road is closed twice a year, the U.S. Forest Service explained. Vehicle traffic is not allowed from Sept. 1 to Oct. 30 and March 15 to May 15, according to the video.
“Foot traffic is welcome, just watch your step,” forest officials said in a Facebook post.
“Snake Road is home to 23 species of snake, among the only places in North America where you can see so many different species at such a small geographical area,” wildlife biologist, Mark Vukovich, said in the video.
Three types of venomous snakes migrate across the road: cottonmouth snakes, copperhead snakes, and timber rattlesnakes, Nationapal Geographic reported.
Snake Road visitors have a good chance of seeing all three kinds. Vukovich told KSDK.
Anyone hiking Snake Road is prohibited from handling, collecting, or harassing the snakes and other wildlife in the area, per the U.S. Forest Service’s website.
If a snake does bite someone, call 911, the video explained.
Snake Road is about 110 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Migrating snakes — some of them venomous — close forest road in Illinois, rangers say."
